I've left the expansive counter tops of suburbia and returned to my little kitchen in Hell's Kitchen. This past week was wonderful, I got to see my whole family, sleep in my old bed, and eat my mom's delicious Thai salmon (which will someday find its way into this blog!). I also ate lots of other wonderful things that I probably shouldn't have, so really the absolute last thing I needed to do upon coming back was make some ice cream.

Whoops.

This does have fruit in it, so I do believe the Muffin Top Gods will turn a blind eye to the cream and sugar. Just to be sure, I said five Hail Dairys while the ice cream was being churned. And I thought about what my life would be like if I were blessed with my sister's metabolism. She got Mom's genes (so she gets Mom's jeans), and I got...an ice cream maker.

To clarify, my mom buys really nice jeans.

Ok, back to the ice cream. Do other people sometimes just forget about pears, or is that just me? I truly did not remember that they even existed until I was flipping through The Perfect Scoop and I came across David's recipe for Pear Caramel Ice Cream. I immediately stopped not-cleaning my closet and hustled to the grocery store to buy some pears, and within 30 minutes, the base for this ice cream was done.

I was looking for a recipe that didn't involve making a custard base, and this one fit the bill perfectly. Rather than loading up on egg yolks, this recipe uses the pureed, cooked pears to give the ice cream its substance and richness.

I changed a few things here and there (salted caramel instead of regular, a dash of vanilla bean paste, some lemon zest), and the end result was so delicious that I will never, ever forget about pears again.

Also, The Help describes pears as "gross apples", but even he conceded that this ice cream was the bombdotcom.

We are creeping up on ice cream season, so stop pretending to spring-clean, go get some pears and go crazy!

Recipe for Salted Caramel Pear Ice Cream(adapted from David Lebovitz)

3 ripe pears, peeled and diced

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract)

1 cup heavy cream

1 cup light cream

pinch of sea salt

1/2 tsp. lemon zest

In a saucepan, melt sugar over medium heat until it turns a rich, amber color. Stir occasionally during this process.

Once sugar is amber, add chopped pears and cook for ten minutes, or until pears are soft and fully cooked. During this time, the caramel may seize up and form a clump. Keep stirring, the caramel will eventually re-dissolve. Add the vanilla bean paste at this time, and stir to combine.

Once the pears are fully cooked, remove the saucepan from heat. Add 1/2 cup of the heavy cream, and stir to fully combine. Add the remaining heavy cream, the light cream, the salt and the lemon zest and mix thoroughly.

Bring mixture to room temperature, then puree the mixture using a food processor, immersion blender, or regular blender.